I left Corporate America four years ago to be a stay-at-home mom. It is the most rewarding, fulfilling, and frustrating job I’ve ever had.
I started a blog because I have a serious lack of adult interaction. This is a great way to get my thoughts out, and practice talking to people who are older than age four. Please enjoy my rantings about the life of a stay-at-home mom.
And remember, everyone looks better with a few shades of crazy on their faces.

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Monday, March 31, 2008

Happy Monday, everyone! This week’s Manic Monday word is Pull, and to be honest, I had a hard time thinking of one for pull. So, let’s get creative.

I think I’ve mentioned before that we really enjoy doing Let’s Dish! It’s one of those meal places where they have all the ingredients laid out for you. You just go in and put your meals together, then take them home and stick them in your freezer. This has been such a huge time saver and soooooo convenient, and we have been doing it once a month for over a year.

I received a horrible email from Let’s Dish this week that they were closing as of yesterday! Crap on a stick!!! This is so not cool! Yes, there are other meal places, but Let’s Dish was the cheapest and you got the most food. I am not happy. Plus, they had recipes that I absolutely loved!!!

Eric and I decided to make a list of our favorite Let’s Dish dishes. Then, I sat down and pulled from my memory as many of the ingredients and recipes that I could remember. So far, I have five dishes that I have made from memory and stuck in the freezer. We haven’t yet tried any of the dishes to see if they taste as good as they did when I made them at the store, but I am hopeful.

I made Garlic Cheddar Sliders, Calzones, Mozzarella-Stuffed Mini Meatloaves, Citrus Almond Tilapia, and Chicken Crostini – all from memory. This week, we will start pulling them out of the freezer for dinner, and I will let you know how they turned out.

Following is my Chicken Crostini recipe. Since it is pulled from my memory, I didn’t measure anything, I just kind of added stuff until it looked good. I loved this one when I made it at the store!

Chicken Crostini

Ingredients1 loaf French bread or baguette

Olive oilBlack pepperGarlic saltBasil

Cooked, cubed chickenFrozen red peppersShredded Italian cheese

Directions* Slice baguette into about 12 thick slices.* In small bowl, mix olive oil, pepper, garlic salt and basil.* With a pastry brush, brush olive oil mixture on both sides of each slice of bread and place in baking pan. (I use two 9x13 pans, and place six slices in each.)* Sprinkle cubed chicken on top of each slice of bread.* Sprinkle a few frozen peppers over the chicken.* Top each crostini with your desired amount of Italian cheese. (I love my cheese, so I use a lot.)* Put lids on your pans and pop them in your freezer.

Baking instructionsKeep frozen until ready to bake. Preheat oven to 375. Pull the pan of crostinis out of your freezer or place the desired number of crostinis on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly and bottoms are browned. Enjoy!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Okay, I’m getting my mommy lies messed up. I really need to make a list of all the things my mom told me when I was a kid, but unfortunately I don’t remember all of her little quips until presented with the situation and then they come flying out of my mouth.

For example, if I catch Eli eating brown sugar, I automatically say, “That will give you worms.” before I can even stop myself.

Today, Eli was complaining that the tip of his tongue hurt. Without hesitation I said, “That means you told a lie.” Why the hell do I do this? Because of my mom!!

Eli gasped and clutched his mouth. “NO, I DIDN’T!”

I said, “Well, your Nanny always told me that if I had a sore on my tongue it was because I told a lie.”

So Eli ran to the bathroom to look at his tongue. Sure enough, there was a tiny sore on the end of it.

He came back in and said, “Well, I do have a sore on my tongue, but I haven’t been lying.” Then he lifted up his pant legs and said, “See? My knees aren’t black.”

That one took me a second. Then I smiled and said, “No, honey. Your knees turn black if you drink too much coffee. You get a sore on your tongue if you tell a lie.”

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Today was the day we decided to hit potty training hardcore. By 'we', I mean 'me'. Eric was at work, Georgia wasn’t all that excited, and Eli didn’t care about anything but the new sticker machine he got for Easter.

I decided that I would try taking off Georgia's diaper for two hours each morning, taking her to the potty after each hour. After a few days of success, my book says you’re supposed to leave the diaper off longer until eventually, she’s out of diapers all day.

So, this morning, I took off her diaper when she got up and sat her on the potty. We sang songs and read books, but nothing. We had previously bought some Dora underpants, but I made the executive decision to let her run around naked from the waist down because I really didn’t want to clean pee and poop out of the new undies quite yet.

I told her we would try to go potty again in an hour. I watched her carefully after that to make sure there wasn’t pee running down her leg. Then, I started cleaning the kitchen (bad idea) and noticed she had gone in the office. This was about 10 minutes before our designated potty time. When I went to get her, she came running out with poop stuck to her leg.

Damn! She had gone in the office to go poop. And it looked like she huddled over the furnace vent to do it because there was poop all over the vent cover. Not. Cool. I really don’t want it to smell like poop in the office every time the heat comes on.

I took her to the potty and explained how we make pee and poop in the potty and plunked her down. After a couple of minutes, she got up, yelled, “I ALL DONE!” and ran off. I looked in the toilet and was shocked. SUCCESS!! She had peed. I made such a big deal. I danced around. I gave her a sticker. I gave a few WOO HOO’s! I was hoping that it might actually be that easy.

After another hour, I took her to the potty again, but nothing. Since it had been two hours, I put her pull-ups back on. It wasn’t long before she went into my bedroom and shut the door. She came back out a couple of minutes later and smelled like poop. Damn. I tried the potty again, but this time nothing. I said, “Don’t you have to go potty?” She smiled and said, “But not yet!”

That’s how she answers everything. “But not yet!” no matter what the question.

Anyway, I put the diaper back on her. We’ll try again tomorrow. I only hope if she poops without her diaper, she doesn’t squat over the vent again to do it.

Monday, March 24, 2008

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend! We were out of town visiting family all weekend and didn't get home until late Sunday night. Rather than attempt an understandable Manic Monday post and get egg on my face (ba doom ching), I thought I would post some pictures of the kids hunting for Easter eggs at my parents' house. . . Make that plastic eggs filled with jelly beans. I swear to God, those two were on such a sugar high this weekend, I'm surprised they can't just take off and fly.

Friday, March 21, 2008

I went to a jewelry party tonight. I’m sure most of you are quite familiar with these things. You go to a home party with tables full of over-priced jewelry, and then you feel pressured to buy something so that your friend, the hostess, can get something for free.

It was a Silpada party, and that sh*t is expensive! Plus, only four people attended, so the pressure was really on to buy jewelry. Now, I’ve pimped Discovery Toys and Passion Parties, so I know how this sales crap works. But jeez! I’m sorry, but I would much rather spend $150 on a vibrator than on a bracelet. Maybe it’s just me, but for that much money, I want a little more enjoyment.

Eric was not thrilled I was attending this little soiree, and even attempted to take my wallet out of my purse before I left the house. Subtle. Since I’ve spent about 10 times my budget in the last two weeks on a new microwave and refrigerator, I didn’t have a lot of available funds for costume jewelry. And apparently, Silpada doesn’t have a clearance rack. . . Yes, I asked.

I finally walked away with a pair of $30 earrings that I really think I could have bought for $8 at Target, but whatever. My friend Andrea bought $24 toe ring. Dude. Seriously. Next time, I think I’ll stay home with my vibrator.

Out of all the free stuff I have received while blogging, this may be the best thing yet! The folks at Mom Central and Kellogg Company sent me a box of the new Town House Flipsides Pretzel Crackers. These unique crackers have just been introduced to the retail market, so you may have seen these at your local grocery store already. Flipsides are a cracker on one side and a pretzel on the other side. Oh yeah, baby! What’s better than having two of your favorite snacks in one bite?!

When I received these, I thought, “Oh, these will be a great snack for the kids.” I was right on that point – the kids really liked them. Then Eric and I tasted them. Oh. My. God. YUM! We received the cheddar-flavored Flipsides, and they are so good! I went out and bought some of my favorite beer cheese dip, which was AWESOME with these crackers. We received our box of Flipsides on Saturday, and Eric and I snarfed them down so fast, they were gone the next day. I’m not proud of myself, but hey, it’s better than snarfing down a bag of peanut M&M’s, right?

The only complaint I had about the FlipSides is that they broke easily, and there were a lot of broken crackers in the box. That’s not a big deal to me because they taste great, and we were eating them right out of the box. However, if you’re putting them on a serving plate at parties, it’s nicer to display whole crackers rather than cracker pieces, which is what the last third of the box consisted of. Again, not a big deal to me, but it’s something I thought I should point out.

I hope you all will check out these delicious pretzel crackers. The crackers are great for a light snack, kids’ lunches or to serve with your favorite dip or cheese spread. I already have them on my grocery list for when I go to the store. I think I’ll be buying more than one box so they last me a little bit longer.

For more information about the new Town House Flipsides Pretzel Crackers, visit the Kellogg’s Web site, and look for the new Flipsides at a grocery store near you today!!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Now before anyone sends me hate mail, let me just say that I love many of these children’s shows. However after watching them repetitively as my children do, I sometimes want to stab myself in the eyes with a ballpoint pen.

2. Fairly Oddparents – Okay, this one is actually my favorite of them all. But after watching the Fairly Oddbaby movie about 500 times, it’s no longer funny. Even the voice of Ben Stein can’t help.

3. Max and Ruby – I swear, Ruby’s voice is that of the devil. Max needs to bitch slap her something fierce.

4. Wayside – The Wayside School is 30 stories high with one classroom on each floor. And there doesn’t seem to be an elevator. And the logistics of this seem to bother no one but me.

5. Little Bear – Okay, Little Bear’s parents wear clothes, and so do some of his friends. So why the hell does Little Bear run around naked? It’s a question for the ages.

6. Franklin – Have you seen Franklin and The Turtle Lake Treasure? It’s about Franklin’s grandma and how her parents died in a fire when she was a little girl. Any kid’s show that makes me cry REALLY pisses me off!

7. Ni Hao Kai-lan – I already have Georgia running around speaking Spanish because of Dora. Now she’s running around spouting Chinese. That’s a little more than I can handle. At least with Spanish, I know what the heck she’s saying.

8. Wow Wow Wubbzy – Georgia loves this show. The problem is that I think they only made about 10 episodes, and they show them over and over and over and over again.

9. Yo Gabba Gabba – Don’t get me started.

10. Teletubbies – When Eli was younger, I had to go through this phase with him. Now Georgia is into the Teletubbies and I am fighting the urge to take them all out with an assault rifle.

11. Dora the Explorer – I think Georgia will forever be in love with Dora. The problem is that now she keeps imitating Swiper The Fox. She likes to hide my stuff and say things like, “You’ll never see your phone now! Heh! Heh! Heh!” Yeah. That’s not cool.

12. Oobi – It’s a FREAKING HAND!!!!!

13. The Wonder Pets – A guinea pig, a turtle and a duckling board their flying toy sailboat, complete with marker caps for rocket exhausts, and go save animals. It’s a cute concept that I think I could buy if it were animated, but the photo-puppetry makes it a little too bizarre.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

We are on a roll here at my house. We just bought a new refrigerator! We bought our old refrigerator with our wedding money when we got married, so it’s coming up on 14 years old. The shelves on the door regularly fall out, and the ice maker produces hollow ice cubes which get stuck in the ice maker daily and I have to dig them out.

We had been discussing a new refrigerator for months, but we really looked them over recently since we were in the store buying a new microwave. This weekend, Home Depot was having a sale, so we decided to go for it. We chose a really nice side-by-side stainless steel fridge with the water and ice cubes in the door. It’s crazy how excited I am about that. I have never had a refrigerator with the water/ice thing in the door!

Now, buying it was the easy part. When we were measuring the “hole” in our kitchen where the refrigerator goes, it got a little more tricky. I never realized how much bigger the new refrigerators are compared with the old ones. Our old refrigerator is about 65 inches tall. The new one is 70 inches tall. We had to remove the cabinet above the refrigerator so we could get a new one to fit in there.

Next up is the width. The current “hole” is 36 ½ inches wide. The new refrigerator is 36 inches wide. That’s the part that scares me. I was afraid this was cutting it too close, but the lady at Home Depot said, “Oh, you’ll be fiiiiine!”

Uh-huh. The fridge is supposed to be delivered on Wednesday, so we’ll see. Either I’ll be happy as a clam with my brand new refrigerator, or I’ll have a stainless steel monstrosity in the middle of my kitchen because it won’t fit anywhere else. Cross your fingers for me.

Monday, March 17, 2008

This is a topic for which I thought of many things I could write about, but one thing stood out. Anyone who has been to college has had one of those nights when you drink waaaay too much. I had one of those evenings my freshman year at KU, and years later, I still remember it with frightening clarity.

I lived in a dorm with my (still) best friends, Stacey and Andrea. My brother was working on his masters at a college about 30 minutes away. He showed up at our dorm on a Friday night with a huge bottle of vodka and said, “Have fun.”

At the time, I thought it was a nice gesture, but looking back, I think he was just evil. I was 18 years old, my first semester at college, and I had never really drunk much before. I had certainly never had vodka.

Stacey and Andrea and I started pouring, and realized that you could really mix vodka with just about anything you can get your hands on – Kool-Aid, Diet Pepsi, slushies from the QT, whatever. It sounds disgusting now, but I quickly found out that after you have a couple of vodka drinks, you can’t really taste the vodka anymore.

Dude! It was horrible! I don’t remember much about the actual night except for two things. 1. We drunk dialed just about everyone we had ever met. (Why is calling people so appealing when you’re drinking?) and 2. I threw up several times in our room because I was too drunk to walk down the hall to the bathroom.

The aftermath of that night is much clearer. I called my dad the next day to ask him what to do for a hangover. I vividly remember him laughing at me. Stacey and I decided that the best remedy was to eat bread to soak up the alcohol in our system. I’m not exactly sure where we came up with that logic but it made sense at the time.

I also remember that I didn’t drink vodka again for about 15 years (a.k.a. last summer). I couldn’t even get near vodka for a few years because the smell of it made my stomach lurch. But last summer, someone made me a drink with Absolut Pears. Yum! It doesn’t even taste like vodka! Which is probably the danger. Hmmm . . . I think maybe I’ll just stick with beer.

Friday, March 14, 2008

So, my microwave exploded today. Dude! First, it was the furnace, then the kitchen faucet (did I blog about that one?), and now the microwave. At least if things come in threes, I should be done, right?

There I was at lunch, microwaving some Easy Mac for Georgia for lunch when all of a sudden, the microwave buzzed LOUDLY, and the light on the inside got extremely bright, and it started smoking.

Not a good thing.

Luckily, the Easy Mac was close enough to done that Georgia could eat it, but I still had yet to heat up my lunch, which were White Castle hamburgers. I had accepted fairly quickly that our microwave was going bye-bye (I think we’ve had it for at least 10 years), but dammit, I wanted my sliders!

I decided to chance it. I mean, they only had to heat up for 60 seconds. So, I put them in the microwave and turned it on. There was still smoke and the buzzing was getting louder, and this time the inside light got very bright and started flickering. Georgia was fascinated, but I made her stand behind me in case the thing blew up.

I know this wasn’t one of my brightest ideas, but I was really hungry, and I was standing right there ready for action in case I saw flames. I turned the microwave off after about 45 seconds because I was too scared to continue, and unplugged it. My sliders were warm and had a funny taste (probably radiation poisoning), but I ate them anyway.

I called Eric at work and told him that our microwave exploded (okay maybe I’m being melodramatic, but there was a lot of smoke). So, when he got home last night, we headed to Lowe’s to buy a new microwave. The kids couldn’t sit in the cart because we had to put the microwave in it, so that was fun. They climbed all over the riding lawn mowers, cabinets and fake toilets until finally I took them to wait in the car.

Eric checked out with the new microwave. I desperately wanted an over-the-range microwave, but we have cabinets above our stove so that’s not happening. But we did get a very cool microwave that has a child lock on it. Woo hoo! Even though I hate to spend money, it’s always fun to get new stuff. Hopefully this one will last awhile before I manage to set it on fire.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

My daughter is 2 1/2, and even though she's out of the "putting everything in her mouth" stage, she's still quite adventurous. I'm a little concerned about her oral fixation. Yet I can't get her to actually eat food. What the hell?

1. My shirt – She will come up to me and either lick or chew on my shirt. Then she says, “You’re welcome!” and walks away. I don’t get it.

2. Play-Doh – Okay, I used to eat Play-Doh when I was little, so I really can’t fault her for this one.

3. Mud – After coming in from the backyard, she has mud all over her face, lips and teeth. Why exactly is that appetizing?

4. Chalk – As much chalk as this child eats, I should just serve it for dinner.

5. Markers – You’ve seen the pictures.

6. Cat food – She will actually push the cats out of the way if they are trying to eat because she gets mad that they’re eating her food.

7. Pennies – I try to hide all coinage, but if she finds one, she pops it into her mouth, shows it to me, then runs. I think she thinks it’s funny to have me chase her even though she’s in trouble.

Monday, March 10, 2008

It seems like every other commercial on TV is for Chuck E. Cheese’s. Some of you may not notice this, but if you have a kid who is always begging to go, you notice it big time.

Since I have enough of loud, screaming children at home, I really don’t need to go someplace where there are hundreds of loud, energetic children in a concentrated area. Eli has been begging to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s for as long as I can remember, and up until now, I was pretty good at distracting him. That is until Eric hit me with a low blow.

When I was little, there was Showbiz Pizza. Anyone remember Showbiz? I would get to go with friends, but my parents absolutely refused to take me to Showbiz. Eric said, “Are you going to deny your son Chuck E. Cheese’s like your parents denied you Showbiz?” Well, mother f*ck! How can I argue with that?

Sunday was the big day, and we loaded up the kids and headed to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Dude! I don’t get how all of those bells and flashing lights don’t send children into flailing seizures the second they walk in the door.

After some greasy pizza, we took the kids out to play. We found that Eli loves to plunk tokens in machines even if he has absolutely no idea what they do. Georgia loves to ride the Big Red Clifford (whose claim to fame is that he vibrates slightly) over and over and over again.

Eric and I discovered we still rock at ski ball. The only problem is that it’s really hard to keep an eye on Georgia when I’m playing ski ball. First, she jumped in between a kid and his video game and took over playing. Oops. When I caught her and told her to come help mommy at ski ball, she thought the object of the game was to attempt to walk up the shoot and put the ball in the holes. It’s not like I can very well chase her up the shoot.

Eli was a little bit better at ski ball. We just have to teach him to throw underhanded. He chucks that ball overhanded like he’s pitching at the World Series. At one point, he threw it into the next lane and surprised the woman playing. I’m just happy he didn’t take off anyone’s head.

By the time we left, two hours later, Eli had collected 135 tickets to trade in for a prize. We found that 135 tickets were enough to get almost nothing. We had enough for two Airheads candies. Luckily, Eli loves Airheads, so he was pleased.

The second we left, Eli started asking when we were coming back again. Oh, sweet lord, I don’t think I can do that very often. That place wears me out – complete sensory overload. We decided we can do it maybe once a quarter. I just have to listen to Eli ask about Chuck E. Cheese’s every day for the next few months.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

This week’s Manic Monday word is Can, and oh my, there are sooo many things I Can write about. It did make me wonder how many kids today are actually familiar with The Little Engine That Could. “I think I can. I think I can.” Hell, these days, everything is Thomas the Tank. But I digress.

The first thing I thought of was the way Georgia asks for something – anything. When she first started talking, and she wanted something, she would say, “Can I? Can I? Can I?” I thought that was the cutest thing ever.

As many of you parents know, as soon as you smile or laugh at something your child does, they keep doing it. Now that Georgia can talk, and we’re trying to teach her to use ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, it’s much more frustrating because she still asks for things the same way. She puts a question in front of it, but it goes something like this:

“Can I have a bite? CanICanICanICanICanICanI . . .” to infinity until you give her what she wants. Or in the case that you interrupt her by saying no, she has a fit. Such as when Eric leaves for work.

Georgia: “Can I go? CanICanICanICanICanICanI . . .”

Me (interrupting): “No, you can’t go with daddy. Daddy has to go to work.”

Then, Eric leaves for work smiling, and Georgia throws herself on the ground screaming and kicking, “I WANT GO, TOO!”

When I try to pick her up, I get, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

This is how my week started last week. One of these days, I’m going to leave smiling and make Eric stay home with the kids all day. Hmmm . . . Now there’s a thought.

Personally, I get tired of giving my children gifts only to have them ripped open in two seconds. Isn’t the whole savoring of anticipation thing supposed to be the best part? Anyway, I wanted to do something that was more special, and I have something new for everyone to try out.

The kind folks at Mom Central hooked me up with Giftventure. Giftventure is a way to make gift giving more special, and make it last longer so the gift-giving process lasts longer.

Giftventure is a personalized treasure hunt for your child! At Giftventure.com, you choose the Giftventure package you are most interested in. We chose The Treasure Map Adventure. First, you hide a gift around your house, such as in the back of your closet or your nightstand – someplace your child won’t find it until the right time. Then, you enter a few personal details into the Giftventure.com site.

Giftventure prints out and mails to your child a series of personalized letters and puzzles that, when solved, lead to the location you typed into the Web site. Your child receives the personalized letters from a fictional character – we chose Percy the Pirate – and each letter and puzzle is personalized with the details you entered. Over the course of the week, your child will receive three letters and has to piece together the clues. The final letter will direct your child to the secret hiding place of the gift.

Eli absolutely loved this. He’s only 5, so I had to help him with reading the clues, but he thought it was the coolest thing ever, and he filled out the treasure map all by himself. When he finally found his gift (Toy Story 2 DVD), I don’t think he was as excited by that as he was with the whole Treasure Hunt adventure. He keeps asking when Pirate Percy is going to send him another letter.

Giftventure is perfect for Easter, Christmas, birthdays, or any holiday or occasion you want. We did our little treasure hunt just for fun, and it was a special treat for the kids, who had a great time figuring out the clues!

Now, here is the special! For Easter, Giftventure is offering 10% off the list price (19.95) to all my blog readers – that’s you!! All you have to do is visit their Web site and enter promo code momcentral when placing your order. If you sign up by March 14, you will also get reduced shipping!

Friday, March 07, 2008

Yippee skippy, it’s Friday! I’m wondering if my week could get any weirder. My freelance business is really picking up, so I have been busy. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to write SEO content while trying to entertain two children at the same time.

Georgia has spent the days spinning around in circles as fast as she can. She stops every once in awhile and screams “WHOA!” and then starts again. Then she stops again and screams, “STOP MAKING MUSIC!” Dude, sometimes I wonder exactly what beat she is bopping to. I’m not quite sure I get it, but she really seems to be enjoying herself.

Eli comes up to me and just says things out of the blue like, “Mama! Do you want to see the blood in my eyes?” and then makes a weird face.

Not to be outdone, Georgia decided to celebrate today with explosive diarrhea. Okay, she desperately needs to learn to use the potty. After three blowouts today, and lots of cornstarch and diaper rash cream, the poor girl was screaming in pain from her flaming bottom. Tomorrow, I may just let her run around without pants. Luckily, I just got a new bottle of carpet stain remover. So I think I’m ready.

Is there anything better than when your one of your favorite treats becomes a health food? I don’t think there is!! Kellogg's just introduced its new Whole Grain Pop-Tarts! And the kind folks at Mom Central and Kellogg Company sent two boxes for my kids and me to try. Oh yeah, baby!

We received a box of the Whole Grain Strawberry Pop-Tarts and a box of the Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. When I was little, I couldn’t seem to get enough sugar and I just used to lick the icing off the tops of Pop-Tarts before eating them. Eventually I stopped eating Pop-Tarts because as I got older, I thought they were too sweet.

Well, the Whole Grain Pop-Tarts are perfect. They aren’t covered with the sugary icing, they just they just have icing drizzled over the top, so it’s not as overpowering. The inside of the Pop Tart has a nice strong flavor, which I think tastes way better than the generic equivalents.

You can tell the Pop-Tart is whole grain because it looks whole grain, but that part doesn’t taste any different to me than the regular Pop-Tart. If anything, I thought it was a softer consistency and not as “hard” as a regular Pop-Tart.

Now, here is the best part – my kids LOVED them!! Woo hoo!! They are huge fans of Pop-Tarts. They never want them toasted, and just eat them cold. As soon as they saw me putting these in the pantry, they screamed “I WANT ONE! I WANT ONE!” Eli prefers the Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Georgia is a girl after my own heart – she loves the Strawberry. It’s very satisfying to watch my kids happily eating something they think is a treat and knowing they are getting fiber and 16 grams of whole grains. I almost feel like I’m tricking them. Muwahahahaha!

I will definitely keep buying the Whole Grain Pop-Tarts. They get a big thumbs up from me because they are so tasty and not as sweet. Plus anytime I can get my kids to eat anything that’s remotely good for them, I am all over it!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

I didn’t have time this week to sit down and compile a list of 13 anything, but I had a lot of ideas about TT’s that I could write. So here is a list of 13 Thursday Thirteens that I didn’t write today, but that may be coming at some point in the future when I have slightly more energy.

1. 13 reasons I want to run away from home (Did I mention that it was a bad day?)

2. 13 reasons why I’m completely exhausted

3. 13 places where Georgia has thrown a tantrum

4. 13 things the kids picked up at the grocery store when I wasn’t looking

5. 13 books I wish I had time to read

6. 13 songs I put on Eli’s new mix CD

7. 13 things I said that made Eli scowl at me

8. 13 toys Eli has taken for show and tell

9. 13 expletives I uttered when I found out I had to pay $500 for Georgia’s preschool enrollment

As a mom, I have been extremely concerned since my children were born on how household chemicals are affecting them. Children can get extremely sick from the cleaners you use around the house even if you are very careful.

I can spray my countertops down with 409 and wipe them off well, and two seconds later my kids are climbing up on the counter looking for a snack. I desperately wanted to find a cleaners that were not harmful and non-toxic. I tried a few different ones, but the problem I always ran into was that the “green” cleaners I tried weren’t effective. Until now!

Clorox just introduced a new line of products called Green Works. Green Works is a full line of natural cleaning products, and includes everything from glass cleaner and all-purpose cleaner to toilet bowl cleaners. Green Works cleaners are made from plant-based ingredients, so they are natural cleaners, and they smell wonderful!!

Mom Central together with Clorox sent us bottles of the glass cleaner and the all-purpose cleaner to try out. The glass cleaner has a nice clean citrusy smell, and the all-purpose cleaner smells like lime! This is a nice change from having to open the windows in my bathroom every time I clean because the toxic fumes are about to make me pass out!

But the big question is – How well does Green Works work?

It works wonderfully! I am not kidding. I LOVE these products, and I’m not just saying that because they sent me samples for free. First, I tried the all-purpose cleaner on the kitchen counter. It got off marker! And something red and sticky that I never figured out what it was. And the coffee stain on my stove. Then, I used it to clean up cat spit-up from the hardwood floor. That’s right, if a cleaner says all-purpose, it better mean all-purpose! It worked great on the floor. Next, my husband used it to clean the inside of his car. It worked great for that, too!

Next up was the glass cleaner. I am picky about glass cleaners because many of them are streaky. I took this bottle and went around the house. I cleaned the bathroom mirrors, the TV screens, the computer screens, the doors on the entertainment center, the doors on the fireplace, the top of the coffee table and the front door. Then I got tired. But guess what? No streaks. And no rubbing and rubbing and rubbing. I was amazed at how well it worked. Dare I say, the Green Works glass cleaner worked better than Windex! And the citrusy smells of the cleaners are awesome!

Like I said, I am constantly worried about the chemicals my children are exposed to. Green Works helps to take a load off my mind, and does a great job at cleaning my house! Visit Green Works’ official Web site to read more about this new line of natural cleaners, and look for them at a store near you. You will love Green Works because it is environmentally friendly, kid safe and effective.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Okay, I think I’m psychic. No really. I’m not crazy. Okay, maybe I am, but not because of that.

I know you all know what I’m talking about. Have you ever had those moments when something pops into your head, like a song, and then two seconds later, it’s playing on the radio? That kind of things happen to me all the time, but it seems to be increasing lately.

Every time I have a song stuck in my head, it never fails that within about two hours, Eric starts humming it. We have sat down and tried to do it on purpose. I’ll think of a song and make him try to guess it or vice versa, but it never works when we do try that.

On Saturday, I turned on Noggin for Eli, and every time a show would come on, it would pop into my head what it was going to be about. For example, when Eli said that Oswald was going to be on, I started thinking of the Oswald episode where he caught fireflies, and sure enough, that was the episode that came on. After that happened three times, it started to freak me out. But the second I start consciously paying attention and trying to guess, I couldn't do it.

Then, yesterday I started thinking about this woman named Kathy that I worked with about 12 years ago. I didn’t work with her closely, and I wouldn’t say we were really friends. I hadn’t thought about this woman in years, but for some reason, she just popped into my head yesterday and I wondered what she was doing these days.

This morning, I had a doctor’s appointment. When I walked out of the doctor’s office to leave, there was Kathy sitting in the waiting room. I almost fell over. Now you have to admit, that’s a little creepy. I went up and started talking to her and did the whole “Remember me? We worked together at Daniels Publishing?” She said, “Oh, of course” even though it was quite obvious she didn’t know who in the hell I was.

But here is my question. How do you harness the power? I mean tap into your psychic potential. Seriously. And again, I’m not crazy. But I was thinking that if I could really figure out how to do this, I could use my powers for something good. If you read my blog yesterday, you know that winning Powerball is high on my list. Or maybe I could get one of those booths at the Renaissance Festival and charge $40 for a 15 minute psychic reading. Dude! I could make some bank!

Monday, March 03, 2008

This week’s Manic Monday word is Want, and my brain is overwhelmed with the possibilities. Because I’m a greedy bitch.

It’s probably pointing out the obvious to say that I want to be able to take my daughter into a store without her getting upset over something and screaming so loudly they can hear her in the next state. But I digress.

Here is what I want. I want to win the lottery. I may have mentioned this before. I want to win the big lottery – the Powerball. And I want to win it when it is upwards of $150 million. So far, I am investing $1 almost every week and it hasn’t paid off yet. I’m starting to get annoyed.

If I won, I would seriously try to do some good things with the money. Really! So why is it never the deserving? The last big winner I saw on the news was some white trash woman missing a few teeth. When asked what she was going to do with the money, she answered, “I’m gonna buy myself a Harley. Yeee haw!”

Dude. Seriously. I can’t believe these people keep winning. I have decided that God has a very twisted sense of humor.

I have thought often about what the first thing would be that I would buy. And I think I have decided that I would buy new bath towels. Yes, really. New towels. And not just regular bath towels – I want a bath towel that’s the size of a small country. I think those are bath sheets, right?

Anyway, my question to you is this: What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery?

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Recently, the folks at Mom Central sent me the new Baby Einstein DVD – Baby’s First Moves. My 2-year-old daughter, Georgia, has always loved the Baby Einstein DVDs, so I was excited for a new one.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I never quite got the Baby Einstein DVDs myself. I remember when Eli was little and someone gave me Baby Mozart. It seriously looked like someone sat in their basement, dropped some acid and made a video. Then again, that’s the feeling I get from a lot of kid’s shows. But I digress.

As much as I don’t get it, my kids (especially Georgia) absolutely LOVE Baby Einstein. They sit in front of the TV completely transfixed whenever I turn it on. It’s amazing.

The Baby Einstein DVDs are an interactive way for parents to connect with their children, engage their babies, and create moments of discovery together. Baby’s First Moves is a great DVD for children developing those gross motor skills, such as walking, running, clapping, and dancing (my daughter’s favorite thing to do). This DVD helps children develop those moves and helps parents work with their babies so they can develop physical strength and self-confidence.

My 2-year-old did express interest in this DVD because she LOVES watching babies. But I would say that if you have a child under 18 months, Baby’s First Moves is perfect for you. I lent this DVD to my best friend yesterday, and her 8-month-old began imitating the babies and really getting into it. He loves it!!

I know there has been a lot of discussion in the news about whether or not young children should watch TV. I am all for it. I think that educational programming like those featured on Noggin, and educational videos like Baby Einstein, have had a huge effect on my children. It amazes me how early they learned colors, numbers, shapes, animals, and how to speak Spanish just from watching educational programming.

If you have young kids, and you haven’t checked out Baby Einstein yet, run to the store or visit their Web site at http://www.babyeinstein.com/ to see their complete line of videos and DVDs, and to learn more about the parent/child interaction campaign.

Baby’s First Moves is perfect for little ones and gives you ideas of activities you can do with your baby. You will love it and so will your child!